E/G-AU) Everything Changes
by Demelza
Summary: A shared nightmare after a hellish week late one night brings the two detectives, Elisa Maza and Goliath Wyvern, closer together. (AU--hope you like it, it's my first fic in a VERY LONG time)


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Title: Everything Changes  
**Author:** Quantara (aka Demelza)  
**Email:** quantara@nzoom.com  
**Written:** June 2002  
**Disclaimer:** Gargoyles does not in any way whatsoever belong to me. It belongs to Disney/Buena Vista and all other parties that own it. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission. All original characters are the property of the author.  
**Category: **Elisa & Goliath, Angst, Romance, Drama, AU  
**Warning: **Rated R, for some swearing, and sexual references  
**Summary: **A shared nightmare after a hellish week late one night brings the two detectives, Elisa Maza and Goliath Wyvern, closer together. (AU)  
**A/N: **This is a one off fic I was inspired to write after watching the tear jerker ending of 'Titanic'. Kudos to Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio for doing an absolutely incredible job in their roles.   
**A/N2: **I borrowed this fic from one that I originally wrote in another fandom, and after a few alterations, turned it into a full swinging Elisa and Goliath romance fan fic! Also, for those who are wondering who I am, I've previously been using my real name, Demelza, and have now decided to write under a pen name.  
**Dedication:** To Lily, Missy and Skye.  


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~

Detective Elisa Maza stepped into squad room, another eight-hour shift ahead of her and her partner, Goliath Wyvern. She walked over to their desk and sat down. Goliath was already there, filling in some paper work. She eased into her chair and looked over at him. His face was cast downward as he scribbled away with his right hand onto the sheet of paper, but she knew his dark, handsome rugged features from memory. He had a strong jaw, just as strong cheek bones, and his smile always melted her. _Too bad he's married, _she sighed inwardly. But it didn't stop her from admiring, from a distance of course, the strong muscular body he had. And standing at six foot three, she had to admit he was most definitely built like a giant. _A kind, caring, gentle giant._

Knowing Elisa was there, staring at him, Goliath looked up at her from his work, his deep chocolate brown eyes looking back at her. "How'd you sleep last night?" He asked.

"I don't think I did," she replied, yawning.

Silence between them. "Me either. I tossed and turned all night. Dominique's pissed at me."

"She'll get over it."

"I don't think so. She was still really angry when she came home on her lunch break." He told her, the pitch in his deep voice lowered.

There was a moment's silence. "You guys have a fight or something?" Elisa asked, sounding concerned as she looked over at her partner.

"Yeah." Goliath replied. "Said things were over between us if I didn't go stay at a motel until this case blew over."

"Harsh. What'd you say back?"

He shrugged. "Nothing."

"What, you're going to let her push you around like that?" She asked, a little pissed off herself at what Dominique had told him he had to do.

"She's right Elisa. She works..."

"And you don't!?"

"It's not like I've never gone to a motel before. I'll just get my usual room at Benford's up the road from here. I'll be fine." He replied, not looking at her. He stood up, "Anyway, Captain wants us." He said, directly changing the subject before walking out of the locker room, not leaving Elisa any time to respond.

~

"I can't believe we're stuck in this damn car for the next six." Goliath moaned, looking at the building on the avenue up ahead from where he and Elisa sat in her Ford Fairlane, his hand resting on the steering wheel. He rolled his eyes angrily before looking over at Elisa. "You got a headache?" He asked, carefully watching as she rubbed her temples with the forefinger and thumb of her right hand, while her arm was propped up on the door.

Her eyes narrowed momentarily before she turned to him. "No." She stated, looking away again, out her side window.

"Then what's with the head rubbing?"

Elisa sighed. "It's a remedy to get rid of this awful ringing in my ears." She replied, her tone sarcastic.

"Then why not rub your ears?" Goliath bit back, his tone just as sarcastic. He was shocked when she immediately shot him a glare and shook her head in his direction. "Why are you suddenly in a bad mood with me?"

Elisa stared at him. "Because this is the first assignment like this we've had in months, and you're bitching like you wish we hadn't got it."

He sighed. "It's not that, Elisa. It's just the principal of the fact Chavez completely refused to let us chase after this sick bastard three days ago, and now we're here watching his every move."

"Yeah, well I'm pissed about it too," she replied, sighing softly. "Avondale's murdering these young people in their homes, and we haven't been so much as able to sneeze from a five-hundred metre distance til now. And all because Morgan took matters into his own hands, and punched him in the face."

"Given half a chance, I would've punched that bastard's face in too," Goliath said, his voice low but angered.

Elisa looked sideways at him, believing he would have. "Least we're able to catch him now."

Goliath let out another sigh, "I'm surprised Chavez didn't give this assignment Sandigo and Heywood."

Elisa looked at him for a moment, then looked out the side window, not saying anything.

~

The two officers sat in the car for almost another two and a half hours before Ricky Avondale reared his ugly face across the road outside his apartment building.

"There he is," Goliath said, watching as the gruff, caucasian man with dark hair, standing no taller than about five foot two looked all around him before heading left along the avenue.

"Suspect is moving west along Ninety-seventh," Elisa called into the small transmitter attached to the inside collar her jacket.

'All units be advised. Use caution.' Chavez's voice came over the radio in both officers' earplugs.

"Okay, let's move." Goliath said, starting the engine of the car.

"Not until he's in the car," Elisa said, putting her hand on his arm. "Wait."

Avondale seemed to walk back and forth along the footpath several times, as if expecting something to happen, when he then marched over to a dark red Honda CR-X and climbed in. Momentarily after starting the engine, he peeled out from the footpath and continued his journey west.

Goliath followed at a distance, while Elisa called in the mark, model and plate number of Avondale's car and alerted Chavez and the rest involved in the stakeout that he was on the move.

They followed him for a just about five blocks when Avondale suddenly spun the car on a 90 degree right angle and went up a side street, the tyres screeched on the road and sent out black smoke as the rubber of the back tyres spun.

"Damn I hate this!" Goliath shouted, turning the steering wheel hard as Elisa flicked on the switch to turn on the sirens and grabbed hold of the support bar above the door as their car swerved with a sharp right, and Goliath slammed his foot on the gas pedal, following Avondale.

The chase went along four more back alleys and across three main roads when Avondale made a sharp left up ahead of them between two old red brick seven storey apartment buildings. Goliath turned the steering wheel sharp to the left as they approached the turning point, the car slammed into a large blue round rubbish bin, not stopping for more than a split second, Goliath pulled away and aptly followed.

They had almost closed in on Avondale, when suddenly the Honda slowed right down and Goliath and Elisa's car collided into the ass end of it. Both cars came to a screaming halt. Both officer's were about to reach for the doors and open them when Avondale sped forward about two metres. The white reverse lights appeared on the back of the Honda, only three seconds warning before he started reversing in their direction.

"Oh shit!" Goliath and Elisa both shouted as the car impacted into theirs, damaging the rear bumper and front bumper of both cars. "Put it in reverse!" Elisa shouted at Goliath.

He quickly put the gear stick into reverse and hurriedly drove backwards a short distance, inadvertently giving Avondale the chance to speed off. "Damn it!" he muttered, slamming the gear into drive and sped off after the bastard again.

Avondale was a good ten metres ahead of them and went across the main road on exit of the alley, crossing over into another alley across the road. It was a back alley to a delivery station, they realised, when a big truck reversed in their path.

"Jag-off!" Goliath shouted, slamming his fist into the horn, blaring it loudly. The driver of the truck turned in his seat and gave him the middle finger gesture. Goliath ignored him and knocked the car into reverse again, backing along to the side alley they had passed only moments before. He put the car into drive again and followed the alley, and drove along the back of several buildings and out along to the right again, reaching the main road Avondale had to have exited onto. But they'd lost him.

"Damn it!" He shouted, bringing the car to a halt just out onto the road, looking around the road frantically for the bastard. He slammed his hand into the steering wheel. "Fuck!"

~

"How in hell can you have lost him, Wyvern!?" Morgan demanded, pushing the shorter officer backward.

"Hey, don't shove me, *Morgan*!" Goliath replied, about to shove him back when Elisa stepped in between the two of them. "Let me at him, Elisa." Goliath snarled, glaring at the recently promoted sergeant in front of them both.

"Just settle down, Goliath. It won't solve a thing." Elisa told him, then turned her attention toward Morgan. "It wasn't our fault, that truck driver backed in front of us, by the time we got to the street, Avondale was gone."

Morgan set his jaw. "He can't have just vanished into thin air."

"Then you explain it, jack-ass!" Goliath ordered, anger set in his eyes.

Elisa pushed him backward, giving him a stern warning look. She once again turned back to Morgan, making sure to stand in front of Goliath so that he didn't do anything he'd later regret. "What we need, is eyes up in the sky."

Morgan looked at her. "A helicopter? There is no way we can get a helicopter, how we would explain it?"

"Because we're trying to catch a serial killer." Captain Chavez's voice reigned in. All three officers looked in her direction. She stepped over to them. "I just called it in, it's on the way."

"You have to let us go up there, Boss." Goliath told her, stepping round to the other side of Elisa, away from Morgan.

"You have got to be kidding me! Come on Captain, we need trained specialists up there, not these two!" He retorted, motioning toward Goliath and Elisa.

"Excuse me!?" Goliath exclaimed, glaring at him, while Elisa's eyes narrowed and she shook her head angrily.

"Morgan, shut your trap. I make all final decisions regarding this case, and after your assault on Avondale, you're losing your seniority for this case more and more by the minute." Chavez informed, before directing her attention to Goliath and Elisa.

"We've done training, Captain, and you know we're up to it."

Chavez just looked at Goliath, then to Elisa, who was giving her partner a frightened look.

~

A single whoosh at each turn of the blades of the helicopter echoed in Goliath's mind. His heart stopped in that single moment of impact for a split few seconds before the burning crashing around him jolted him to the reality that seemed only too real. Like as if it were a dream that he couldn't awake from. The cries of help were stuck in his throat and all he could do was pray to God that someone was coming to rescue him from the certain death that felt so imminent around him.

A voice, a murmur from the pilot as he apologised with his last breath for not being able to prevent the crash. His voice trembled out those few words of 'I'm so sorry' and his head rolled forward. The metal from the front of the helicopter dug deep into his chest, the flame of the candle that held his life blown out.

Another voice and Goliath turned his head to the woman next to him. His partner. The best goddamned partner he ever had during his time on the force. He swallowed, seeing the blood stream down her face, mixed with the tears she was breathlessly crying. Her strawberry blonde hair discoloured and dampened from the blood that came from the wound on the side of her head.

He cried out the words 'I'm sorry' with his blue eyes and she gave a slight smile back to reassure him it wasn't his fault. But his heart burned with sorrow, it had been his fault, it was his fault they were here. Dying. He had been the one to get Chavez to give them the helicopter assignment to find that bastard Avondale.

"Goliath," she breathed out, taking several quick bursts of air as her shivering body went deep into shock.

"Save your breath," Goliath uttered back in a whisper, his voice scratchy. "W-we're gonna be...oh-kay, Elisa." He promised, trying his best to sound sure of those four words.

She looked back at him and more tears streamed down her face, stinging the cuts on her face from the shattered glass that had struck them both in the crash. "I-I guess w-we both knew..." she took in several breaths of air, wincing in pain. "Th-that it w-would come...come to this."

"W-we're not gonna die," he replied, trying to catch his breath with every word. "Y-you're n-not gonna die." He watched as her body started to go into shock more, the cries escaping her lips from the intense pain that was going through her legs and stomach. "Pr-promise me you w-won't die!"

"I-I can't..." she breathed, swallowing as she looked back at him, more tears streaming down her face. "I-I love you, Goliath."

He looked back at her, tears stinging his eyes. He swallowed hard, taking in a breath and shook his head. "D-don't do that, d-don't y-you say g-goodbye, Elisa." He breathed, trying to grasp onto every ounce of air he could. But his chest hurt too much, it felt like more air was leaving his lungs than there was coming in. "I'm not g-gonna lose you, n-not now."

More tears streamed down Elisa's face and Goliath reached his hand over to hold onto hers. He squeezed her hand and refused to let go, not even as the screaming sirens in the distance could be heard. "I won't let you go," he breathed, but Elisa's eyes closed and her head slipped backward.

"No!" He cried out, his chest getting heavier as he shook her hand, calling her name. Begging her to wake up. But the last breath had already escaped over her lips and now she was gone. "'No, please God, no...!"

Goliath's body jerked and his eyes opened widely. Tears stung his eyes as they streamed down his cheeks. It had been a dream, a bad dream. He let out a breath and wiped away the tears, automatically reaching for the cold beer standing upward by his right leg. He downed a long mouthful of the now warm beverage and automatically wished he hadn't. The drink fizzed in his mouth, and the taste was less than desirable.

He set the bottle down in front of the armchair and sat with his arms resting on his knees, his head resting in his right hand. He couldn't get the images from his mind, nor even the voices, either. It all felt so real, even his chest ached with the same dull pain it had in his dream.

Images of Elisa's face flashed in his mind. Sorrow and the most unbearable stabbing pains came over him in hearing his own voice cry out to God to not be taking her from him. His eyes closed momentarily and the feelings flooded over him. He opened his eyes wide, sitting up straight as he tried to push it all away. But it didn't stop those few words echo through in his mind. Elisa's soft and trembling voice, 'I-I love you, Goliath'. His whole body tensed as he fought off any tears and tried to force that feeling of loss out of his system. It had only been a dream, a very bad dream that wasn't real. It was all fake, mere fabrications of events in the past week. He understood and accepted that, but it didn't help him wonder why she had uttered those words, even though only in his dream.

Goliath sat in the dark on the sofa for what seemed like hours just running the dream through his mind, trying to figure out what it had meant when there was a knock at his motel room door. He blinked, thinking the soft tapping had been part of his imagination when the knocking came again, louder this time. He rose to his feet in a defensive stance and walked over to the door. "Who is it?" He asked, looking watchfully at the door as he waited for a reply, wondering who knew where he was staying.

"It's me." A woman's soft voice came from the other side, one he recognised instantly.

Goliath automatically reached for the deadbolt on the door and unlocked it, then opened the door and found Elisa standing there. Without even saying a word, he stepped aside to let her come in. He closed the door behind her as she stepped inside, then walked with her through into the living area, switching on the lamp beside the sofa. "Is everything okay?" He asked, clearing his throat a little.

Elisa nodded, digging her hands deeper into the pockets of her red jacket. "I ah, I just, couldn't sleep," she said, her voice soft, sad even. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was already awake," he said back, motioning for her to take a seat on the sofa. "Are you sure everything's okay?

After they both sat down, Elisa sat there for a minute or so not saying anything, not even looking at him. Then, she slowly turned her head and met his eyes. "Yeah. I had a bad dream, and...I just keep thinking about what happened this week." She looked away from him and took in a breath before slowly letting it back out.

Goliath looked back at her, as if knowing what she was thinking. "Nothing we could have done would have changed what happened, Elisa. Nothing."

She looked back at him. "I know. But it doesn't stop you from thinking about it. Wishing you could have been able to stop it."

"They went too low near power lines. It was the pilot's fault."

Elisa shot him angered eyes. "How can you just talk like that? What if it was us in that helicopter?" She asked, her voice filled with pain. 

"But it wasn't!" Goliath replied, raising his voice. "It wasn't us in there!"

"But it should have been!" She said back, her tone showing her pain. She looked away again. "It should've been us. Not Manns. Not George. And not Lando." She didn't say anything else for a moment, before she turned back to him, meeting his gaze.

"It should never have gone down like that, Elisa," he said back, shaking his head. "If Chavez had of let us go after him when we first had the chance none of this would have ever happened."

"I know." Elisa replied. "But...we got the killer. In the end, we still got the killer."

"Yeah, and at a great cost." He stated.

"Too great."

There was a long silence between them.

"It was the crash, wasn't it?" Goliath asked after a while, looking right at her.

Elisa looked back at him, confused. "What?"

"Your dream."

She swallowed. "Yeah." She said, looking away. She closed her eyes momentarily; sudden bursts of images and sounds flooded her mind. The blades of the helicopter whooshing in long slow turns, screams of agony, Goliath begging her to promise not to die on him. 'I-I can't...' she could hear herself tell him back. 

Her eyes opened slowly and she could see the same fear and anguish in his eyes that she'd seen in her dream. "I'm so sorry, Goliath," she said in a low voice, a tear flowing down her cheek.

Goliath turned on the sofa, taking Elisa's hand in his. "Hey, no, don't cry...you didn't do anything, Elisa," he said in a soft voice.

She swallowed, wiping the tears from her face. "I did, I didn't promise."

"Promise what?" He asked painfully, never seeing her like this before.

"Promise to never leave..." she told him, more tears flowing effortlessly from her eyes. She closed her eyes, shaking her head once, as if to try clear her mind before speaking again. She opened her eyes again, meeting his gaze. "I wanted to, God knows I did, Goliath, but I couldn't. I couldn't promise." She cried.

"It's okay Elisa, it was only a dream...a very bad dream." Goliath said, clasping his hand over hers, squeezing tight to assure her everything was okay.

"Was it?" She asked through tears. "I don't know," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"It was." He assured her, but she shook her head.

"After I woke up," she begun, swallowing the tears in her throat as she looked back at him. "I kept thinking about this last year, since the attacks. How I haven't been there for you, there for you when Hudson died, there when you needed me on every other occassion."

He moved closer to her, wiping the tears from her face. "Yes, you were...you were there for me. And all that other stuff, it doesn't matter any more."

"How can you just forgive me like that?" Elisa sniffed, but it didn't stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. She went to wipe them away, not wanting to appear weak when Goliath pulled her hand back down and held it in his hand tightly. "Why, after all the shit I've put you through?"

"Elisa, you have been the most honest person in my life, you tell me when I'm at fault, you help build me up when I'm down...you've been the best thing in my life since the day I met you. And I never want to lose that, Elisa. I love you too much to let some little thing come between what you give me in my life every minute of the day."

Elisa stared at him. "Goliath..."

Goliath looked back at her, seeing the intense confusion in her eyes. He didn't say anything back, just leant forward and gently brushed his lips against hers, surprised at the tenderness as she kissed him back. The kiss ended after a moment, and he pulled away just enough to look back at her. "Elisa..."

She drew him closer to her and brought her lips to his in another tender embrace. "Don't..." she whispered back to him, her lips moving against his as she spoke. "Just..." she said, searching his eyes before allowing him to capture her lips in his once more as he leaned closer to her once more.

Their lips locked, every tender embrace intensifying after the other. His arms wrapped around her waist, while one of hers wound around his neck, and the other held the back of his head. Goliath ran both hands firmly down her back, sensual hand movements that caused her body to arch toward his and a low moan escaped her lips. The vibration went over his lips, sweetly, and he returned it with a more intense kiss back.

They silently moved backward on the sofa at Elisa's insistence, her hands moving to his chest, while he continued his search of her body. His hands moved over her breasts, down her stomach and to her lips in a continuous caressing motion.

Their lips parted, and Goliath sat up halfway, his eyes intently locked on hers as he helped her unbutton the black shirt he wore. As the last button released, she ran her hands lightly over his shoulders and aptly pushed the shirt down his arms, swallowing as he tossed it to the floor. There was no reluctance, no hesitation, as Elisa sat up and greeted his lips with hers, one of her hands gently holding the back of his neck and she glided him down against her as they reclined back against the sofa once more.

Their lips didn't part again. Not as Goliath helped Elisa remove her own blouse, or as he slipped his hands behind her back and unhooked her bra, before helping her remove it, discarding it onto the floor like some trinket that no longer held any use. Choosing to prolong what they both wanted, Goliath slowly brought his hands back up along Elisa's spine in circular motions that were intensified with every embrace of their still locked lips.

After another kiss, deeper this time, their lips slowly parted so each could catch their breath. They stared at each other, gaze intense, filled with desire and passion. "Make love to me, Goliath..." Elisa breathlessly whispered.

He looked back at her, "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Slowly, Goliath leaned his face down towards Elisa's before breathlessly capturing her lips with his and she kissed him back.

~

Elisa lay in Goliath's arms, her head resting on his chest. She could hear his heart beating one strong beat after another. She smiled contentedly as they lay together on the king size bed in the room adjourning the living area of his motel room. Their naked bodies pressed together, a sole sheet covering them. She'd thought he was asleep when his fingers trailed up her back, causing her to smile once more. She arched her head back and looked up at him, to see him smiling back at her.

"Hey," Elisa warmly spoke.

"Hey," Goliath replied, his deep tone gentle, like it was when he'd made love to her. "That was..."

"Incredible," she purred, tracing her forefinger of her left hand round in circles very gently on his chest. Surprised at the softness of the light coverage of hairs beneath her fingertips. "But what now?"

He looked back at her, his smile fading. He tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't want this to be just a one night thing," he looked back at her, to see her still looking back at him. The smile faded from her face, also. "I want it to be more than that." 

She nodded. "So do I. I've loved you for so long...and I...don't want it to go back to the way it was."

"Nor do I." Goliath replied, gently caressing her cheek.

"But it can't, can it?" Elisa asked, the sadness in her voice showing. "We have to go back to the way things were...just partners, you and Dominique..."

He looked at her. "No," she replied softly, shaking his head. "When I told you that she wanted me to come to the motel, it wasn't because my keeping her awake by tossing and turning all night long. It was because she told me she was having an affair with some guy from her work and asked me for a divorce."

"What?"

"I couldn't stay there after that, so I moved out. And so, I don't see any reason you and I can't be together, Elisa. If we love each other...we can make it work."

Elisa looked at him, feeling sad, yet happy at the same time. In the eight years they'd been working together, she'd so often wished it had of been her that was married to him and not Dominique. Goliath was twice the man of any guy she'd ever been with, and she'd been witness to Dominique's constant nagging him to quit his job, to be a different kind of guy than he honestly and truly was. And then came them, he wanted them to be together, which was something she always secretly wished for. "I'd like that," she said softly back to him.

"So would I," Goliath smiled, holding her in his arms tightly as she lay her head back down on his chest. "So would I..." he uttered, inaudibly, smile stretched across his face. He sighed contently, and didn't let go of Elisa even for a moment, not even as she fell asleep in his arms not long later. For the first time in his life he was happy, and he'd found that happiness with her. With Elisa. 

What did you think? Should I continue it? :)  
I hope you enjoyed this story!!


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